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Decimax Warband
Created by the founder of the Decimators as his own personal warband, Decimax was intended to lead the raider bands while also guiding their culture and ensuring their future. Instead, the Warband would ultimately be destroyed, resulting in the near collapse of the Decimators. History Foundation When Dexter Malek began work on the ideas that would become the Decimators, he knew that a key part of ensuring their future would be guidance. By his reasoning, the culture that he aimed to create and perpetuate would only do such with a self-perpetuating guiding hand that would always be there to lead them. To this end, as he laid down the laws of what would become the warbands,he ensured that one of them would allways be above the others, there to guide and lead them into the future. When he explained his vision to his initial gathering of loyalists in 2202, Malek explained the need for this group. Without them, he reasoned, the warbands would collapse to infighting like so many other tribal or Raider cultures had before them. But with his warband, known as Decimax (Supposedly named for a warrior king of old) to guide them, they would instead continue, becoming strong and unified, achieving an effective immortality. While there were some who were less pleased with his effectively elevating himself, few could argue with his logic. Aside from their place as the leaders of the Decimators, Malek (now taking the name ‘Decimax’ to fit with his theme of immortal warrior kings) claimed another advantage for his warband. He declared that the Citadel would be theirs, and become the heart of their territory. While it would be shared with the other Warbands, control of it would be theirs alone. As he sold it, this position would allow him to continue to guide and shape their culture, and allow its continued existence. The early years of the Decimators were spent on growth and expansion, aiming to lay the foundation for the empire Malek envisioned. Decimaxx took the lead in this campaign, as much to claim territory as to prove the pre-eminence of his chosen warband. Under his lead, they grew the fastest of any of the warbands, outstripping their fellows. Of course, a good portion of this came from the inherit advantages that Malek had written in for himself. Empire at war As much as the individual successes of the Decimator Warbands could be attributed to their leaders, much of it also lay at the feet of Decimaxx himself. Malek’s iron will and charisma helped shape the warbands and give them the drive to move beyond simple raiders. A key part of this drive was the willingness to step up himself and lead from the front, thus proving his own strength and capability not only to his enemies but also to his allies. In 2206, Decimaxx made what was their biggest move yet, attacking the town of (town) along the Missouri river. The defenders were not ready for the ferocity of the attackers, nor their speed and especially not how well coordinated they were in defiance of the usual raider rabble. With the defences crushed, the Decimaxx sacked the town, taking anything of value with them before they departed, leaving ruins and misery in their wake. Malek boldly proclaimed his warband’s successes, using them as proof of his vision for their culture and future. This attack would serve to spur the others on, including Tigon’s attack on Granite City in 2207. With each advancing year, the Decimators became bolder and more determined, as each sought to prove their worth to their leader while capitalising on their growing momentum. While they did suffer losses during this early period, Malek was able to successfully spin them as a necessity, weeding out the weak so that the strong and worthy would rule. What would be the first real test of his culture came in 2210 when warlord Orbar, one of Malek’s original followers and leader of the titular warband, was slain in battle. As per his plan, Orbar’s lieutenants came together and appointed a new warcheif from within their ranks, bestowing on him the Orbar name. In essence, they ensured the continuity of the title, thus preserving the ideal of the legacy of ancient warrior kings. Not one to simply leave things to chance, Malek had placed spies within the other Warbands in order to help maintain his control and, should it be needed, enforce his culture. They reported that this move had created a flurry of activity within the other Warbands as each leader began selecting potential heirs should the worst happen. Quietly, Malek was pleased to hear this, knowing that his followers were moving to ensure the continuity of his culture, rather then falling into the in-fighting that had been so common with other raider bands. Clash of civilisations The first great challenge to the Decimators would not come from the Minnesota communities they terrorised, however. Instead, it would spring from another, unexpected source. A season of harsh winters and intense radstorms in 2216 had stirred up tribal groups in Dakota, forcing them eastwards in search of shelter and food. At first, these groups remained largely unknown as they moved through the less populated western half of the former state, but conflict would soon become inevitable. The first signs of trouble came when scouts from Axoid reported the destruction of several outlying communities, ones that they had themselves intended to attack. In each case, they had been raised with their structures destroyed, their populations killed and anything of worth carried off. Axoid sent scouts to search for the source of the attacks, eventually locating the tribal encampments. Despite the size of their forces, the Tribals had used the remote location and low population density to conceal themselves, with nobody being around to report their presence. Not only did they find that these attackers were invaders from well beyond the Decimators’ normal reach, but that their numbers were potentially great enough to threaten a Warband. In contrast to the hot-headed manner they were known for, Axoid instead sought help with this new threat. They turned to Orbar, who had camps nearby, with the two beginning to formulate a plan to deal with these unwanted interlopers. The pair staged attacks on their camps which only served to reveal just how numerous and well dug-in their enemies were. While the two warbands were able to inflict considerable damage on their enemies, their own losses were greater than expected. Rather than continue to press the issue and risk greater losses, the pair pulled back and sent runners to the Citadel, feeling that Decimaxx needed to know about these new arrivals. Malek analysed the information they had provided, and deemed these invaders to indeed be a threat to his own dreams of empire building. After sending runners back to Axoid and Orbar, he decamped his own warband to march en-masse against the invaders. Acting under Malek’s direction, the three Warbands launched a fresh wave of attacks on the invaders. While they were now wary of their opponents, the Tribals were not prepared for the numbers that the three possessed, nor their level of cooperation and coordination. At the same time, Decimaxx intended to be thorough in their actions, determined to completely destroy their enemy, both to eliminate them as a threat, as well as to discourage any further adventurism into what they saw as their lands. After three months of bloody warfare, the invaders had been crushed. The bulk of their warriors were killed, while the survivors and their dependants had been taken as slaves. Despite the losses they had suffered, all three Warbands emerged stronger then they had been before, feeding off the bounties of their vanquished foes. Malek was sure to spin this as being the result of his leadership, in essence validating his place as the pinnacle of the Decimators’ society. What few knew at the time was that Malek had been injured during the campaign. His wounds and the events that surrounded them had been covered up by his personal physician, for fear they would diminish his position as a leader over the Warbands. Continuity The growth rate of the Decimators slowed in the 2220s, a fact that Malek had expected and planned on. By this point, the warbands were maturing, their ranks filling with second generation members who were slowly supplanting the founders. Their territories were now well-defined, and their society had reached a state where it was stable and functional. Most importantly, the cultural seeds he had planted had taken root, ensuring stability and continuity. Nowhere was this more evident than the few warcheifs that had been replaced so far. In each case, there had been a smooth transition of power to the next generation, with the new leader taking up the name and mantle, ensuring the ongoing legacy of their mythology. In this, Malek felt that he had succeeded, creating the stability that he had sought and in doing so, ensuring a self-perpetuating culture. That is not to say that this period was peaceful by any means. By their very nature, the Decimators continued to attack settlements, communities, trade caravans and whatever other targets they came across. There were also conflicts with other, more traditional raider groups, nomadic tribals and, of course, the various creatures of the wasteland that would often be a threat in and of themselves. Expeditions also helped expand their reach, as the Decimators sought new targets beyond their current reach, bringing with them new conflicts. By 2230, however, Malek had other concerns on his mind. By this point he was in his early 60s, well past the normal life expectancy of a raider and feeling the legacy of a long, active and violent life. Yet he was determined not to stand down until two other events occurred. The first was his desire to be the last of the original warlords standing, largely as a symbolic gesture that would serve to enshrine their mythology and validate his own beliefs. The second issue was just as important to the future of the Decimators as a whole. Before he stepped down, Malek would need to name a heir who would become Decimax (I). This new leader would not only command the most prominent of the Warbands, but also lead the Decimators as a whole. They would need to shoulder the burden of maintaining all that he had built and ensuring that it had a future. Needless to say, this was not a decision that he was taking lightly. Numerous potential candidates had come to his attention, but there were none that Malek fully trusted with their destiny. The rise of the Minnesota Militia in the early 2230s represented the first ever threat to the Decimators as a whole. Composed of an alliance of settlements and towns with mercenary backing, the Militia were an attempt to create an organised opposition to the Decimators. At the time, the Decimators dismissed them as not being a true threat; after all, they had now been active for thirty years and not yet faced anything powerful enough to challenge them directly. Malek was among them, feeling that the sheer numbers of the Decimators were enough to overcome any threat. Instead, those Decimator bands that chose to engage the Militia found that they were far more dangerous than expected. The Militia was a large, well-coordinated and well-lead force that were determined to protect their homes and destroy the Decimators or, at least, end their threat. After several clashes where they suffered substantial losses, the Decimators were, for the first time forced onto the back foot against this new enemy. Rather than wage a bloody war, Malek and several other warbands chose to simply move on, focusing on other regions away from the Militia’s control. However, two of the warbands, Exaxes and Vexar, chose to stand against the Militia. The result was a bloody five-year conflict with neither side being willing to back down or step back. For both sides, it was a bloody campaign; for Exaxes, it was even more so, as the warband lost its leader early in the campaign. However, the other Warbands did little to aid them in the campaign, with even Decimaxx remaining aloof. In the end, the Decimators were victorious as the Militia collapsed as a fighting force, but the two warbands involved were bloodied and spent. Secretly, Malek was pleased with the situation. He had been concerned about Vexar’s rising influence, especially that of its new leader and that they may try to do something to usurp his authority or that of his successor. Instead, Vexar had been diminished, and the threat neutralised. However, this move would have long-term consequences for both Decimaxx and the Decimators as a whole. Heir to eternity By 2241, Malek was the last of the original Decimator Warlords alive, but it was clear that his health was failing and that he could no longer hide it. However, he still had not named an heir, an oversight that threatened to bring down all that he had worked for. Following a health scare, he realised his mistake and came to a snap decision that would have lasting consequences for not only the Decimaxx Warband, but for the Decimators as a whole. At the 2241 convention, Malek stunned all those present by announcing his retirement. As the assembled warlords were reelin from this surprise, he then introduced his heir, Decimaxx (II). What few realised at the time was the reason why Malek had chosen this particular individual as his replacement. Decimax (II) was Malek’s son, far younger than any of the warlords that would be his subordinates. Malek’s appointment of him to the role was as much about perpetuating his line as it was because he still had been unable to decide from within his own lieutenants. Internally, this decision was met with some criticism. There were a number who felt that they would be better suited to running Decimaxx then Malek’s son, citing his relative youth and lack of experience as their biggest concerns. While Malek had publicly stood down, internally, he reassured his subordinates that he would remain as an advisor to the warband, and ensure their future. While there was still some discontent, he was able to mollify it for the moment. However, this discontent was not purely internal. Vexar (II) still felt no small degree of resentment over the way that Decimaxx had left her and her warband to fight the Minnesota Militia without aid. Furthermore, to her, the appointment of Decimaxx’s son as the Warband’s new leader was seen as something of a snub by her, as if Malek was betraying his own ideals by appointing a leader based on personal favours. However, the presence of Malek at Decimaxx (II)’s proverbial shoulder meant that she would not act for the moment. When he had stepped down, Malek had officially retired to complete his work, refining the Decimators’ culture and philosophies for the future. However, within the Decimaxx Warband, it was clear that he was guiding the Warband from behind the scenes. Decimaxx (II) was proving to be very much the opposite of his father, being instead an opportunistic lout who was getting by primarily on his parentage. As the years wore on, there were more who were concerned that their leader was merely his father’s puppet, and that he could not stand on his own. Empire’s End Malek, the last of the original Decimator warlords, died in mid-2245. Unfortunately, without his influence, Decimaxx (II) proved to be everything his detractors had feared. A loudmouthed layabout, he lacked any real vision or direction beyond making his own life more comfortable and living off the labours of his underlings. While the other Warcheifs paid him lip service, there was an undercurrent of discontent present. However, nobody seemed to be willing to act upon it, at least not for the moment. The last few years of Malek’s life had been dominated by a growing threat, one that he had not predicted. The mysterious Minnesota Tribe had appeared in the winter of 2242, attacking several Decimator outposts before simply vanishing back into the snow. Over the next few years they had continually clashed with the Decimators, each time showing that they had a degree of skill and coordination, as well as technology, that was well above that of the average tribal. However, given the sporadic nature of their attacks, as well as their clearly nomadic nature, few regarded them as being more than a nuisance. After his ascension, Decimaxx (II) all but ignored the tribe, focusing on whatever would bring him the most plunder and glory. The result was that the problem festered for years as the Decimators continued to flounder without direction, all while the Minnesota Tribe were gathering in strength and boldness. Those who expressed concern over the Tribe, both within the Decimaxx warband or without, would find their fears dismissed. Those that pressed the issues would then learn of their leader’s darker side, where he abused his power for all it was worth, considering that there was no act that was too heinous or depraved. This situation reached crisis point in early 2249 when the Minnesota Tribe made their boldest move yet. They launched a campaign of attacks against the Orbar warband which cost the Decimators considerably in terms of men and material losses. To add to the humiliation, the Decimators freed Orbar’s slaves and armed them with weapons taken from their former captors, in essence creating an armed uprising within their lands. Orbar bought this matter before the next convention, claiming that the Minnesota Tribe were a threat that they needed to deal with. Vexar seized on this moment by placing the blame for what had happened not on Orbar, but instead at the feet of Decimax (II). She claimed that the Minnesota Tribe had taken advantage of his weak leadership, and were only acting so boldly because he was unwilling to oppose them. She claimed that Decimax needed to prove his leadership and show that he was worthy of his name, his position and to lead others. Vexar’s words were like a floodgate opening, releasing a tide of discontent at Decimaxx. The other Warcheifs joined in Vexar’s accusations, years of pent-up tension boiling over as they expressed their frustrations at Decimaxx (II), both as a leader and as a man. Cut off from support and assaulted from all sides, Decimaxx had been backed into a corner and had no option but to act. Stepping forward, he boldly declared that he would end the threat of the Minnesota Tribe, and prove that he was worthy to lead the Decimators. To those within the Warband, the latter seemed to be his greater concern, given his apparent humiliation at the hands of his subordinates. Taking the bulk of his Warband, Decimaxx (II) marched on the Minnesota Tribe’s territories, intent on wiping them out. Despite the past losses the Decimators had suffered at their hand, Decimaxx was confident of victory; after all, the Minnesota Tribe would now be facing the best armed, largest and most capable of the Warbands. Making camp at the same site that Orbar had been driven from, he immediately dispatched scouts to locate the tribe and their positions in preparation for an assault. The scouts soon reported back, confirming the locations of the Minnesota Tribe’s encampment and giving an estimate of their numbers. Seeing an opportunity, Decimaxx ordered an advance on their camp with himself at the head of the force. After only a few isolated encounters with enemy pickets and scouts, the force fell upon the Minnesota Tribe’s camp, determined to wipe it out. What they instead found was that it was largely empty, save for a few elderly or infirm individuals. Most of the ‘troops’ that the scouts had seen were crude dummies; effective from a distance, but easily recognised up close. Abruptly, the main body of the Minnesota Tribe erupted from the woods around the camp, having completely surrounded the Decimaxx force. Caught by surprise, many of the Decimaxx warriors were killed outright with no chance to react. The Minnesota Tribe’s warriors aggressively advanced, tightening the noose around their enemies and cutting them down as their ranks collapsed into confusion. Decimaxx (II) himself proved to be useless under pressure, having little actual battlefield experience, and instead demanding that his men do everything to protect him. The result was a one-sided massacre that left the bulk of the Decimaxx force dead. Surprisingly, Decimax (II) was among the survivors. Wounded in the battle, he tried to flee back to their base camp and remaining reserve troops along with a handful of other survivors. Instead, they were cut down, Decimaxx himself suffering an inglorious death with his body simply left behind. The Minnesota Tribe continued their advance, either not knowing or caring about who they had just killed. Instead they fell on the Decimaxx base camp, killing the few remaining soldiers, freeing their slaves, taking anything they could and burning whatever they couldn’t. Ruins of Forever Decimaxx’s defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Tribe had been nothing short of catastrophic. In one fell swoop, the warband had lost its leadership and almost all of its warriors. While it still had its lands, noncombatants and some of its slaves, they were completely leaderless and without protection. More importantly, there was no way that the Warband could rebuild itself from this disaster. Its next generation of soldiers were still years away from being ready to fight, and there was nobody left to lead them. Realising the extent of the disaster, the remaining warbands called an emergency convention at the citadel. They recognised the destruction of Decimaxx, and moved to divide up the warband’s remaining assets among themselves, obstinately in the name of protecting their territories, but mostly their motivation was little more than a land grab. However, as disputes arose over who would get what, one thing became clear to the remaining warcheifs. The Decimators were, for the first time in their history, leaderless. Decimaxx had made no provision for what would happen should his warband fall, an oversight that was now looming ahead of the remaining leaders. With no central guiding authority, the six remaining leaders pledged to continue to work together and follow the laws laid down by their founder. However, this idealistic stance would quickly be set aside as long-standing rivalries and disputes came to the fore, but now without any impartial means to resolve them. The result was a decades-long winter, one in which the Warbands would drift apart as each became more concerned with their own goals rather than the Decimators as a whole. Culture As originally conceived by Malek, the Decimaxx warband were intended to be a ruling caste within the Decimators, above all the others. They would still function in the same ways as the others; they would raid, conquer, enslave and take what they needed to survive, ruling through strength of arms and willingness to do what was needed. In these respects, they were much like their counterparts. However, they were also purposefully segregated by Malek’s own guiding principles. The Decimaxx were supposed to maintain a superior, almost detached approach to the other Warbands. They were to lord over them, but also to serve as a guiding hand, directing their culture and shaping their future. They were to be neutral and impartial in all things, acting as the ultimate mediators within their society in order to prevent disputes or, at least, solve them in a way that was not destructive or liable to cause further escalation. In many ways, the Decimaxx, especially their leaders, were seen as learned men within the Decimators. In many ways, this culture was turned in on it as the Decmators grew. The Decimaxx warband were in charge because of Malek’s laws, and not because of any actual qualifications or capability on their part to lead. The other Warbands deferred to them not because of their superiority but because it was what the law required them to do. In short, the Decimaxx culture became about leading without any actual responsibility for leadership, or any need to justify that leadership. This became especially true after Decimaxx (II) took over, and showed that he was clearly more interested in his own pleasures then any actual leadership. The destruction of the Decimax warband also destroyed its culture. The few individuals who survived were absorbed into other Warbands, in the process losing their privileged place within the Decimators’ society. Much of their lore would remain stored within the Citadel, but some of it would be revived by the later reunification of the Decimators and used by the Prime warbands. As an odd twist, due to the lack of literacy among the Decimators, the names ‘Decimax’ and ‘Decimaxx’ were oft used interchangeably. The former is actually the correct spelling. Goals As defined, the goal of the Decimaxx Warband was the maintenance, management and perpetuation of the Decimators’ culture. They were to act as the keepers of their lore, the arbiters in their disputes and so on. To this end, the Decimaxx warband carefully recorded events so that their leaders would have a chronicle to call upon for future use. That much of the Decimator population were illiterate only helped perpetuate their mythology as wise lore masters. As the Decimators evolved, their goals evolved with them. Now Decimaxx’s goal was the perpetuation of their own superiority, rather than the maintaining of the Decimators as a whole. This change began under Malek as a conscious process to ensure continuity. His rationale was that if the Decimax warband survived then the culture it shaped and guided would survive along with it. This goal became paramount during Decimax (II)’s rule, where his actions oft served to frustrate or anger those that were supposed to be his followers. Membership Like the other warbands, the membership of Decimaxx was made up solely of humans. This was a decision based on Malek’s own ideals of false mythology and the heritage of ancient warrior kings. Since their purported ancestors had been human, then the Decimators would also be human in order to maintain their ideals. This also gave him a handy enemy group that he could focus his army on and use as a distraction or rallying point. On several occasions, Malek launched ‘crusades’ against ghouls or Super Mutants in the name of ‘purifying’ the human race while quietly distracting his followers from some other issue. The bulk of the Decimaxx warband were wiped out by the Minnesota Tribe, with the survivors mostly incorporated into the other Warbands. The remaining warcheifs made a conscious decision to keep former members of Decimaxx separated in order to prevent a resurgence of that warband’s culture or independence, in essence breeding Decimax out of existence. The result is that while today there are still those descended from Decimaxx, they are fully absorbed into the various Warbands. Territories At the height of their power, the Decimaxx Warband controlled the largest territories of any of the Decimator groups. Stretching across Minnesota and into Wisconsin, they had access to a wide range of resources and targets to choose form to fulfil their needs. This extent was bought about due to a number of factors, key among them was simply the Warband’s size and capabilities relative to the others. Similarly, Malek was able to manipulate the laws he laid down to give his warband first pick on what he saw as prime territory. The heart of Decimax’s holdings was the Citadel. It served as their seat of power, and, as the site of the convention, was a very visible symbol of their control over the other warbands. At the peak of their power, Decimax controlled a network of other outposts and camps across their territories which were used as staging grounds for their own attacks. These would vary from ramshackle camps to repurposed pre-war structures. After the destruction of the warband, portions of Decimax’s holdings were absorbed by the other Decimators. However, due to their extent and the realities of the situation, vast swathes of their claims were simply abandoned. Technology and Equipment As with many other things, Decimaxx’s equipment was bolstered by Malek’s manipulation of the Decimators’ laws to suit his own purposes. This allowed him to claim a portion of any pre-war supplies found by the other warbands as their own. As a result, the Decimaxx had the second highest level of technology and second-best equipment after the Exaxes; even then, the latter warband was only superior due to their overall greater technological knowledge and unique focus on robotics that set them apart from the other warbands. The Warband would often arm its front-line soldiers with pre-war weapons that they had salvaged or acquired and reconditioned. These would range from N99 10mm pistols to R91 Assault rifles and all manner of other weapons such as submachine guns, pistols, hunting rifles, shotguns and so forth. However, even then they were bound by the realities of a scavenger economy, and many of their soldiers had to make do with whatever weapons they could take from fallen opponents. This lead to many of them being armed with scratch-built pipe weapons, melee weapons like knives or machetes or even improvised ones like baseball bats. This quality of equipment would have one unforeseen consequence. With the destruction of the Exaxes at the hands of the Minnesota Tribe, much of their weaponry would end up in the Tribes’ hands. Category:Raiders Category:Groups Category:Defunct